Local Capacity
launched in 2021
Local Printing Initiative
This project is about developing local printing capacity to allow greater access to quality books across Ethiopia.
- Amharic, Afaan Oromo, and Tigrinya books available to pick up in Addis.
- Over 600K copies of the Ready Set Grow books in twelve languages have been printed and distributed across all the regions of Ethiopia, with support and collaboration with partner organizations.
- Distribution goal: Books for all the children of Ethiopia
National chapter sponsored and launched in 2023
IBBY Ethiopia is a forum for all those interested in creating, printing and distributing high quality Ethiopian children’s and youth literature.
IBBY Ethiopia’s Mission is to support:
- Creating a reading and writing culture in Ethiopia
- Promoting Ethiopian children’s and youth literature in Ethiopia and internationally
- Reading projects to increase Ethiopian children and youth’s access to quality books and to develop a love of reading
IBBY Ethiopia’s Objectives are to support:
- Distributing quality books to children across Ethiopia
- Increasing the number of quality children and youth books and languages available in Ethiopia
- Creating an economic model with authors, illustrators, and educators to support quality book creation and distribution
OHBD is sponsoring and providing strategic leadership support until it becomes self sustaining.
Launched in 2024
While OHBD has had Model Programs focused on libraries, this program, designed to spread Reading Rooms across Ethiopia in the next 10 years, started in 2024.
The purpose is to spread reading rooms across Ethiopia to support increasing literacy and a love of reading.
Reading Rooms need three things:
- Safe space for kids to gather
- Culturally appropriate quality first language books
- Regular programming to engage kids with books
These reading rooms will be provided early reader bilingual children’s books from OHBD as well as a small budget for furniture (tables, chairs and bookshelves). We are collaborating with Rotary International, Rotary Ethiopia and others to make this goal a reality
Reading Rooms
as of July 2025
